1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a print service system and a print processing method for processing a job received from an information processing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, there are cases where a general home-use or office-use multifunction peripheral (MFP) or a printer cannot perform printing desired by a user. Examples of such cases are printing a large amount of data, printing that require high-level processing (e.g., imposition and color adjustment), and wide-format printing.
A print on demand (hereinafter referred to as POD) service performs such special print processing desired by the user. A POD service provider receives a print order from a customer, performs print processing according to a requested content, provides a printed product to the customer, and collects a service fee from the customer.
For example, the POD service provider receives an order to print new year cards for home use, and an order to print A1 size posters or catalogues for office use. The customer previously prepares ordering data, such as images captured using a digital camera, or an electronic document created using commercially available application software (hereinafter referred to as an application).
Since the type of data to be processed is dependent on the applications possessed by the POD service provider, the customer prepares a data format that can be received by the POD service provider. A conventional technique for extending the types of data to be processed in the above-described POD service will be described below. The customer adds as order information, information about the application that the customer has used to previously process the ordering data (herein after referred to as application processing information). The POD service provider then converts the application processing information to a data structure of the application used by the POD service provider, and performs processing or printing using the application possessed thereby (For example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-052694).
The conventional technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-052694 is predicated on both the customer and the provider of the POD service possessing the applications. However, in recent years, application software has become increasingly webified, and there has been a spread in providing application on the Internet as a service.
More specifically, the application performs processing on a server located on the Internet, and only an operation screen operates on a personal computer (PC) of a user. In such a service, it is necessary for the user to previously enter an agreement with the application provider. After entering the agreement, the application provider provides to the user access information that is unique for each user, so that the user uses the application employing the access information.
The application provider then collects from the user a fee agreed upon in the agreement, such as a monthly fixed fee or an usage based rate according to an access amount (hereinafter, such a service will be referred to as an application service).
Further, by a wide-spread use of the application service, there has also been an increase in the types of application used by the user according to usage. It has thus become difficult to continue the agreement that is dependent on the applications possessed by the POD service provider such as in the conventional POD service.
If the above-described agreement cannot be entered between the customer and the POD service provider, the POD service provider cannot predict the types of applications that the customer has used. It thus becomes necessary for the POD service provider to enter an agreement in advance with an application service provider that provides a certain number of applications. However, the POD service provider may enter an agreement with a service provider about unnecessary applications.
Furthermore, the customer uses various types of applications in the technique discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-052694. Since data format analysis and creation of a conversion process become necessary in converting the data to the data format of the application used by the customer, conversion efficiency becomes low.